[Movie 2015] INSIDE MEN 내부자들 - Lee Byung Hun, Jo Seung Woo, Baek Yoon Sik

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CONGRATULATIONS 9 MILLION ADMISSION!

2016/01/22 INSIDE MEN: THE ORIGINAL at Korean Box Office  

INSIDE MEN: THE ORIGINAL = 1,936,482

INSIDE MEN = 7,071,407

TOTAL = 9,007,889  

Source: KoBiz      

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Source: Extreme Movie

INSIDE MEN Japanese Poster

January 24, 2016

Japanese poster of “Inside Men” released

The Japanese poster of film “Inside Men” starring veteran actors Lee Byung-hun, Cho Seung-woo and Baek Yoon-sik has been revealed.

Different from Korean poster, Lee and Cho are facing each other, while Baek stands in between.

The phrase “No.1 Big Hit in Korea ever” is written on the top.

The movie portrays a story of loyalty and betrayal among the main characters -- journalist, business tycoon, politician and prosecutor -- who have a great influence on the society.

“Inside Men” will be open in theaters March in Japan, and is expected to get much attention from fans due to Lee’s immense popularity in the country.

The film surpassed 9 million admissions at the local box office on Friday.

By Kim Soo-hyang (shkim@heraldcorp.com)

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January 26, 2016

'Inside Men' director's cut draws record viewers

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- The director's cut of "Inside Men," a domestic crime thriller, has been viewed by a record number of movie-goers, its distributor said Tuesday.

More than 2 million people have watched "Inside Men: The Original" as of Tuesday morning, a record for a local director's cut, Showbox Mediaplex Co. said.

The special version was released on Dec. 31, 2015, and broke the 1-million-viewer mark in six days. The regular version, meanwhile, drew 7.07 million viewers.

Starring Lee Byung-hun, Cho Seung-woo and Baek Yun-shik, "Inside Men" portrays the complicated relationships between politicians, the press, the wealthy, law enforcement authorities and organized crime in South Korea.

Fifty minutes have been added to the regular version in the director's cut to provide a detailed look into the characters' relationships, Showbox said.

sojungpark@yna.co.kr

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CONGRATULATIONS!

2016/01/26 INSIDE MEN: THE ORIGINAL 

 SURPASSING 2 MILLION AUDIENCE ADMISSION

   

Source: KoBiz      

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Photo credit: hino2033

INSIDE MEN 9 Million Admission

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January 27, 2016

Webtoons emerge as source for dramas, films

By Baek Byung-yeul The Korea Times

After the huge success of "Misaeng," a 2014 TV drama based on cartoonist Yoon Tae-ho's comic of the same title, "webtoons" or online comics have emerged as a major source for films and dramas.

Recent examples of this include "Cheese in the Trap," a television drama based on cartoonist Soonkki's webtoon of the same title, and "Inside Men," a film remake of another of Yoon's cartoon creations.

First aired on Jan. 4 through cable network tvN, "Cheese in the Trap" has become one of the most popular dramas, starring popular actor Park Hae-jin and actress Kim Go-eun.

The drama set a record earlier this month as a weekday cable TV drama with a viewer rating of 6 percent. In its eighth episode last Tuesday, the drama took 7.1 percent of viewers, becoming the highest-rated program to air between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m.

  
Lee Byung-hun in a scene from "Inside Men" / Courtesy of Showbox

The political thriller flick "Inside Men," starring Korean actor Lee Byung-hun, was also received well last year. Based on Yoon's incomplete cartoon work of the same title, the film has garnered more than 7 million viewers since opening on Nov. 19. The director's cut also hit the screens last month and sold more than 2 million tickets.

With the series of successes of these dramas and films based on webtoons, more content creators are trying to bring cartoon work to the small and big screens. According to data from the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), publication rights of 73 cartoon works have been sold for dramas, films and performances as of December 2014.

The reason why webtoons have been in the limelight is probably because of their irresistible fancifulness and themes rooted in reality.

For instance, the webtoon-turned-TV-drama "Orange Marmalade" is set in a world where humans and vampires coexist, and in another webtoon-based TV drama "The Girl Who Sees Smells," actress Shin Se-kyung features a girl with a particular ability to visualize smells. "Misaeng" revolves around interns at a company, reflecting the realities of the current high youth unemployment rate. Creating webtoon-based content also has additional advantages as it can take over the spotlight the original work received.

Webtoons are not limited to dramas or films; they can are also transformed into musicals -- a musical version of "Secretly, Greatly," a webtoon-turned-film, will hit Seoul's stages on Feb. 13.

Though filming or dramatization of webtoons can bring the whole cartoon world to life, there are also limitations to the medium. For instance, star cartoonist Cho Seok's comedy webtoon "The Sound of Your Heart" is being adapted into an episodic TV drama, but it is uncertain how the show can convey the comic version's humor.

baekby@ktimes.com,

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January 28, 2016

Lee Seung Gi Enjoys Star-Studded Farewell Party Before He Leaves for the Military

Source: Soompi by leejojoba 

On January 27, CEO Noh Hee Young of YG Foods posted a star-studded photo on her Instagram with a message that says, “‘I’m going to the army.’ Goodbye party for Seung Gi and congrats to “The Insiders” 9 million viewers, Cho Seung Woo, Lee Byung Hun #Sadaebujip Gokghan #Gokghan by Lee Jong Gook #[Lee] Jung Hyun Congrats Best Actress for Blue Dragon Awards. Wishing you all the good things in the new year.”

In the photo, Korean top stars like Lee Seung Gi, Lee Jung Hyun, Lee Byung Hun, and Jo Seung Woo are shown.

Lee Seung Gi will begin his mandatory military service on February 1. The film “The Insiders” starring Lee Byung Hun and Jo Seung Woo reached over 9 million viewers as of January 22.

Source (1)

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February 3, 2016

Asian Film Awards: 'The Assassin' leads with Nine Nominations

by Karen Chu  THR

'Mountains May Depart, 'Veteran' and 'Mr. Six' each received four nominations.

While it may have missed out on an Oscar foreign-language nomination, The Assassin has emerged as frontrunner at the Asian Film Awards. Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's martial-arts film picked up nine nominations, followed by Mountains May Depart, Veteran and Mr. Six, each with four.

The Assassin was nominated in the best film, director, actress, supporting actress, cinematography, original music, costume design, production design, and sound categories. The film bowed in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last year.

The best film race consists of The Assassin, Chinese co-production Mountains May Depart, India's Bajirao Mastani, Japan's Three Stories of Love, China's Mr. Six, and South Korea's Veteran.

Donnie Yen of Hong Kong box office hit Ip Man 3 is nominated for a best actor gong, with Nagase Masatoshi of Japan's An, Feng Xiaogang of China's Mr. Six, Lee Byung-Hun of South Korea's Inside Men, and John Arcilla of The Philippine's Heneral Luna also in contention.

The best actress category is a contest between Zhao Tao of Mountains May Depart, Shu Qi of The Assassin, Ayase Haruka of Japan's Our Little Sister, Kim Hye-soo of South Korea's Coin Locker Girl, and Karena Lam of Taiwan's Zinnia Flower.

The nominations included thirty-six films from nine countries. Twenty-two films from China or Chinese co-productions were nominated for awards in fifteen categories, followed by sixteen from Japan.

A new category, best sound, was introduced this year.

The fifteen-member jury will be presided by Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To this year, with jury members including Hong Kong actor Sean Lau and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan.

Marking the tenth edition of the Asian Film Awards, organized by the Asian Film Awards Academy, the awards ceremony will be held on March 17 at the Venetian Theater in Macau.

  

Asian Film Awards Nominations

Best Film

Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, China)

The Assassin (Hong Kong, China, Taiwan)

Bajirao Mastani (India)

Three Stories of Love (Japan)

Mr. Six (China)

Veteran (South Korea)

Best Director

Jia Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart

Hou Hsiao-Hsien, The Assassin

Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Our Little Sister

Guan Hu, Mr. Six

Ryoo Seung-wan, Veteran

Best Actor

Donnie Yen, Ip Man 3

Nagase Masatoshi, An

Feng Xiao-gang, Mr. Six

Lee Byung-Hun, Inside Men

John Arcilla, Heneral Luna

Best Actress

Zhao Tao, Mountains May Depart

Shu Qi, The Assassin

Ayase Haruka, Our Little Sister

Kim Hye-soo, Coin Locker Girl

Karena Lam, Zinnia Flower

Best Supporting Actor

Max Zhang, Ip Man 3

Michael Ning, Port of Call

Asano Tadanobu, Journey to the Shore

Oh Dal-soo, Assassination

Cheng Jen Shuo, Thanatos, Drunk

Best Supporting Actress

Zhuo Yun, The Assassin

Tsuchiya Anna, Gonin Saga

Cherry Ngan, Mojin – The Lost Legend

Ueno Juri, The Beauty Inside

Park So-dam, The Priests

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February 4, 2016

Koreans watched record 4.22 films each last year


(Yonhap)

South Koreans watched 4.22 movies in average last year, the highest since the Korean Film Council began tallying online ticketing statistics in May 2004.

According to the KOFIC’s report on the 2015, the number of moviegoers rose 1 percent on-year to post 217.2 million people, surpassing the 200 million mark for three years in a row. 

Industry sales also jumped 4.2 percent to 2.11 trillion won, hitting the 2 trillion mark for two consecutive years. 

KOFIC officials said ticket sales for Korean movies logged 112.9 million people, about half of the total moviegoers last year. 

2015 was a lucrative year for the Korean film market, with a slew of mega-hit films such as “Northern Limit Line,” “Veteran,” “The Beauty Inside” and “Inside Men.”

“South Korean movies used to have a lot of ups and downs but have been growing steadily in recent years,” said Tae Eun-jeong, researcher at KOFIC. "Exports are expected to rise continuously, as many movies are targeting both domestic and foreign viewers.”

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

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February 3, 2016

South Korea box office hits record high in 2015

BY JEAN NOH ScreenDaily

Theatrical box office was up 3.1% while admissions also grew; local films took 52% of admissions.

South Korea box office hits record high in 2015

South Korea’s film industry grew 4.2% last year to rack up a record KW2.1 trillion ($1.7bn), according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The governmental organization says the growth is due to increase in box office and ancillary sales.

Theatrical box office was up 3.1% to a record $1.4bn (KW1.71 trillion).

Admissions also went up 1% to a record 217 million, meaning South Koreans saw an average of 4.22 films per person last year. Overall, local films took 52% of admissions in 2015. Local films clocked up 112 million admissions, up 4.9% from the previous year, while foreign films took 104 million, down 2.8%.

TV and internet VOD demand contributed to the growth of the digital online market which saw a 12.7% jump to $270m (KW334.9bn). IPTV grew 15.7% to make up for 78% of ancillary markets, while internet VOD grew 16.7% compared to 2014.

According to KOFIC, exports for the Korean film industry were down 12% to $55.5m due to less demand for local film servicing from international productions, such as the location shoot for The Avengers: Age Of Ultron.

However, sales for completed films went up 11.3% to $29.3 million. This was made up of $16.8m for contracts signed in 2015 plus overages from films previously sold.

The latter saw a massive 62% jump to $12.5m due to increases in foreign box office receipts and profits from films sold to China in 2014 that saw additional sales in ancillary markets.

A total of 121 more films than 2014 sold overseas, bringing last year’s total to 650 films exported.

Box Office Top 10

(title/country/admissions/distributor)

1. Veteran (S. Korea) 13.4 million, CJ E&M
2. Assassination (S. Korea) 12.7 million, Showbox
3. The Avengers: Age Of Ultron (US) 10.4 million, Walt Disney Company Korea
4. Ode To My Father (S. Korea) 8.9 million, CJ E&M
5. Inside Men (S. Korea) 7.2 million, Showbox
6. The Throne (S. Korea) 6.2 million, Showbox
7. Kingsman: The Secret Service (UK-US) 6.1 million, 20th Century Fox Korea
8. Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation (US) 6.1 million, Lotte Entertainment
9. Northern Limit Line (S. Korea) 6 million, NEW
10. Jurassic World (US) 5.5 million, Universal Pictures International Korea

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February 3, 2016

'The Assassin' leads nods for Asian Film Awards

BY LIZ SHACKLETON ScreenDaily

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin leads the nominations for the 10th Asian Film Awards with nine nods, followed by India’s Bajirao Mastani and Hong Kong’s Port Of Call with five apiece.

'The Assassin' leads nods for Asian Film Awards

The Assassin, which won best director in Cannes last year, was nominated for best film, director, actress (Shu Qi), supporting actress (Zhou Yun), cinematography (Mark Lee Ping-bing) and four other technical categories.

Another sumptious period epic, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani, was also nominated for best film, along with best editing, original music, costume design and visual effects.

Philip Yung’s social drama Port Of Call, based on the true story of a mainland prostitute who was murdered in Hong Kong, picked up nods for best supporting actor (Michael Ning), newcomer (Jessie Li), screenplay, editing and Christopher Doyle’s cinematography.

Rounding out the best film category are Jia Zhangke’s Mountains May Depart (France-China); Hashiguchi Ryosuke’s Three Stories Of Love (Japan); Guan Hu’s Mr Six (China) and Ryoo Seung-wan’s Veteran (South Korea). Mountains May Depart, Mr. Six and Veteran all picked up four nominations.

Chinese director Feng Xiaogang scooped a best actor nomination for his role in Mr. Six, along with Donnie Yen for Ip Man 3 (Hong Kong), Nagase Masatoshi for An (Japan), Lee Byung-hun for Inside Men (South Korea) and John Arcilla for Heneral Luna from the Philippines.

In addition to Shu Qi, best actress nominations went to Zhao Tao for Mountains May Depart, Ayase Haruka for Our Little Sister (Japan), Kim Hye-soo for Coin Locker Girl (South Korea) and Karena Lam for Zinnia Flower (Taiwan).

Hong Kong director Johnnie To will serve as president of this year’s jury, which also includes celebrity jurors Hong Kong actor Sean Lau Ching-wan and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan, and 12 film industry professionals, festival programmers and critics from around the world.

Over the past year, the Asian Film Awards Academy, which organises the AFAs, has rolled out year-round audience and professional development programmes, including masterclasses, training programmes and roadshows.

The AFAs have also added a new category for sound this year, with nominations for Monster Hunt, The Assassin, Bakuman, The Inerasable and Assassination.

This year’s ceremony will take place at the Venetian Macao on March 17.

10th ASIAN FILM AWARDS NOMINATIONS LIST

BEST FILM

1.Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, Mainland China)

2.The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.Bajirao Mastani (India)

4.Three Stories Of Love (Japan)

5.Mr. Six (Mainland China)

6.Veteran (South Korea)

BEST DIRECTOR

1.JIA Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, Mainland China)

2.HOU Hsiao-Hsien, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.KORE-EDA Hirokazu, Our Little Sister (Japan)

4.GUAN Hu, Mr. Six (Mainland China)

5.RYOO Seung-wan, Veteran (South Korea)

BEST ACTOR

1.Donnie YEN, Ip Man 3 (Hong Kong)

2. NAGASE Masatoshi, An (Japan)

3.FENG Xiaogang, Mr. Six (Mainland China)

4.LEE Byung-Hun, Inside Men (South Korea)  

5.John ARCILLA, Heneral Luna (The Philippines)

BEST ACTRESS

1.ZHAO Tao, Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, Mainland China)

2.SHU Qi, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.AYASE Haruka, Our Little Sister (Japan)

4.KIM Hye-soo, Coin Locker Girl (South Korea) 

5.Karena LAM, Zinnia Flower (Taiwan)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1.Max ZHANG, Ip Man 3 (Hong Kong)

2.Michael NING, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

3.ASANO Tadanobu, Journey To The Shore (Japan)

4.OH Dal-soo, Assassination (South Korea)

5.CHENG Jen Shuo, Thanatos, Drunk (Taiwan)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. ZHOU Yun, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

2.TSUCHIYA Anna, Gonin Saga (Japan)

3.Cherry NGAN, Mojin - The Lost Legend (Mainland China)

4.UENO Juri, The Beauty Inside (South Korea)

5.PARK So-dam, The Priests (South Korea)

BEST NEWCOMER

1.Vicky KAUSHAL, Masaan (France, India)

2.Jessie LI, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

3.FUJINO Ryoko, Solomon’s Perjury, Solomon’s Perjury 2 (Japan)

4.KIM Seol-hyun, Gangnam Blues (South Korea)

5.LEE Hong-Chi, Thanatos, Drunk (Taiwan)

6.Waruntorn PAONIL            , Snap (Thailand)

BEST SCREENPLAY

1.JIA Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, Mainland China)

2.Philip YUNG, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

3.Vishal BHARDWAJ, Talvar (India)

4.UJITA Takashi, KUROSAWA Kiyoshi, Journey To The Shore (Japan)

5.RYOO Seung-wan, Veteran (South Korea)

BEST EDITING

1.William CHANG Suk Ping, CHU Ka Yat, LIAO Ching-sung, WONG Hoi, Philip YUNG, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

2.Rajesh PANDEY, Bajirao Mastani (India)

3.OZEKI Yasuyuki, Bakuman (Japan)

4.TU Yiran, Jian Bing Man (Mainland China)

5.KIM Jae-bum, KIM Sang-beom, Veteran (South Korea)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1.Christopher DOYLE, Port Of Call (Hong Kong)

2. Mark LEE Ping-Bing, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.SASAKIBARA Yasushi, YAMAMOTO Yoshiaki, Gonin Saga (Japan)

4.LUO Pan, Mr. Six (Mainland China)

5.KIM Woo-hyung, Assassination (South Korea)

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

1.LIM Giong, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

2.Nihar Ranjan SAMAL, Bajirao Mastani (India)

3.Amit TRIVEDI, Bombay Velvet (India)

4.OTOMO Yoshihide, Journey To The Shore (Japan)

5.BANG Joon-seok, The Throne (South Korea)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1.HWARNG Wern-Ying, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

2.Maxima BASU, Anju MODI, Bajirao Mastani (India)

3.MIYAMOTO Masae, Kakekomi (Japan)

4.LEE Ji-yeon, SHIM Hyun-seob, The Throne (South Korea)

5.Carlo TABIJE, Heneral Luna (The Philippines)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1.Ken MAK, Ip Man 3 (Hong Kong)

2.HWARNG Wern-Ying, The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.HARADA Tetsuo, Kakekomi (Japan)

4.Lee Min-su, Inside Men (South Korea)

5.Benjamin PADERO, Carlo TABIJE, Heneral Luna (The Philippines)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1.Ellen POON, Jason H. SNELL, TANG Bingbing, Monster Hunt (Hong Kong, Mainland China)

2.Srinivas MOHAN, Baahubali: The Beginning (India)

3.Prasad SUTAR, Bajirao Mastani (India)

4.ONOUE Katsuro, Attack On Titan (Japan)

5.CHO Yong Seok, CHOI Jae Cheon, LEE Jeon Hyoung, The Tiger (South Korea)

BEST SOUND

1.LEE Yiu Keung, Kinson TSANG, George YIU Chun Hin, Monster Hunt (Hong Kong, Mainland China)

2.CHU Shih-Yi, TU Duu-Chih, WU Shu-Yao,The Assassin (Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan)

3.WATANABE Shinji, Bakuman (Japan)

4.NISHIYAMA Toru, The Inerasable (Japan)

5. KIM Suk-won, PARK Joo-gang, Assassination (South Korea)

Source: AFA Facebook 

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February 3, 2016

Painterly 'The Assassin' leads nominees at Asian Film Awards

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

HONG KONG (AP) — Hou Hsiao-hsien's cinematic kung fu masterpiece "The Assassin" may have missed out on an Oscar nod, but it tops nominees at the Asian Film Awards.

The nine nominations include best film, best director, best cinematography, and best actress for Shu Qi. Hou won best director at Cannes last year for his painterly dramatic film.

Indian period drama, "Bajirao Mastani" earned five of the nominations announced Wednesday, as did Hong Kong cop thriller "Port of Call," which received 13 nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards last week.

"Port of Call" was absent from the best film category, where "The Assassin" competes with "Bajirao Mastani," ''Mountains May Depart," ''Three Stories Of Love," ''Mr. Six" and "Veteran."

The Asian Film Awards marks its 10th anniversary this year. The Asian Film Awards Academy hands out the awards as part of an effort to promote budding filmmakers in the region and enhance collaboration among regional film industries.

The academy said it received 1,600 submissions from 32 countries, narrowed to 36 films from nine Asian countries competing for the top honors. Hong Kong director Jonnie To leads the jury.

Jury member Sean Lau Ching-wan said he's most looking forward to watching great performances. "I think I'll be mainly looking at actor's performances and watch who bring the characters to life," he said.

Donnie Yen's performance in "Ip Man 3" was nominated in the best actor category alongside Nagase Masatoshi, Feng Xiaogang, Lee Byung-hun and John Arcilla from the Philippines. For best actress, Shu Qi faces competition from Zhao Tao, Haruka Ayase, Kim Hye-soo and Karena Lam.

In the directing category, Hou faces off with Jia Zhangke, Koreeda Hirokazu, Guan Hu and Ryoo Seung-wan.

The awards will be handed out in Macau on March 17.

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February 5, 2016

Review: Good guy in ‘Prosecutor’ is the same old guy

Source: INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily

When watching the just-released action comedy “A Violent Prosecutor,” it’s hard to shake the feeling that the film is trying to catch up with Korea’s latest film trend, albeit belatedly. 

Directed by newbie filmmaker Lee Il-hyeong, the film follows an upright prosecutor named Jae-wook (Hwang Jung-min) who ends up in prison and falsely accused of killing a suspect who was found dead after undergoing rough interrogation. 

While finding a way to take revenge on his boss, the would-be politician who set up Jae-wook in the first place by persuading him to admit the charges, he teams up with Chi-won (Gang Dong-won), a pretty-faced swindler with a long criminal record who knows a thing or two about the ongoing case. 

By tipping him off with some insider information, Jae-wook gets Chi-won freed from the cell, making the best use of his legal knowledge. 

From then on, Chi-won becomes an avatar for the still-imprisoned Jae-wook, trying to dig up enough evidence to open a retrial for the case. 

The best part of the film is Gang’s comedic performance as a mischievous con man, which is highly in contrast to the solemn priest apprentice he played in last year’s film “The Priest.” 

Unlike his image as a chic model-turned-actor, his character as a blustering liar who insists to his naive girlfriend that his Busan dialect derives from the Pennsylvania region where he attended Wharton School is truly entertaining.

However, Hwang’s demanding and wacky prosecutor character is far from being original, as versions of it appeared on the big screen in many forms last year, best represented by “The Advocate: A Missing Body” and “Inside Men.” 

Especially since Hwang won accolades for portraying a righteous cop in last year’s No. 1 hit “Veteran,” another version of the same character feels very redundant.

An unlikely matchup of the enforcer of the law and the one he should be chasing is also something we’ve seen already in “Inside Men.”

So in the end, the film’s charm has to be found in its comedic aspect.

In addition to Gang’s performance, attention-grabbing sidekicks played by Park Sung-woong, Kim Byung-ok and Hwang Byung-kook make the film an easy-to-watch option at the box office during Lunar New Year. 

The film opened nationwide Wednesday.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]

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January 25, 2016

Source: Jason Bechervaise

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To all our friends at the thread celebrating Lunar New Year of the Monkey 恭禧發財

2016: The Year of Monkey

Source: Korean Safari

2016 is the year of Monkey (Fire Monkey) starting from February 8, 2016 (called the Lunar New Year) and lasting to January 27, 2017.

Monkey ranks ninth position in the Chinese Zodiac. They are cheerful and energetic by nature and usually represent flexibility. People under the sign of the Monkey are wise, intelligent, confident, charismatic, loyal, inventive and have leadership.

The weaknesses of the Monkeys are being egotistical, arrogant, crafty, restless and snobbish.

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February 11, 2016

Is the Era of 10-million-admissions Opening for R-rated Movies?
R-rated Movie Market Expands with INSIDE MEN

by Song Soon-jin / KoBiz

KWAK Kyung-taek‘s Friend (2001) has long been called a legend in the Korean R-rated film industry, being the biggest hit in this market, with 8.18 million admissions. However, this record has just been broken in 15 years. The new legend is Inside Men by WOO Min-ho.
 
Released on November 19th last year, Inside Men has attracted a total of 7.07 million viewers. Also assisted by the director's cut, Inside Men: The Original which has sold 2.08 million tickets since its release on December 31st last year, Inside Men is about to become a 10-million-viewer title any minute now.
 
Such great box office performance of Inside Men, a revenge drama against the corrupt leaders in politics, business and media, has significance in Korean cinema. This film was not afraid of revealing all its rather disturbing settings, and made a huge success without bending its content by editing or cutting out necessary parts to get a PG-13 rate. It is also meaningful that a crime drama has made a great success, not an erotic movie or an action flick.
 
The success of Inside Men also owes to the constant expansion of the R-rated movie market, with films like NA Hong-jin’s The Chaser (2008), CHOI Dong-hoon’s Tazza: The High Rollers (2006), and PARK Hoon-jung’s New World (2013). For the last 5 years, some R-rated movies have made great success: Silenced (2011); Nameless Gangster : Rules of the Time (2012); New World; and Tazza-The Hidden Card (2014) are some of the examples.
 
According to the Korean Film Council's box office tracking service, the number of admissions for R-rated movies between 2011 and 2015 has jumped from 2011's 4.66 million, to 10 million in 2013, which is more than a double just in 2 years, and to 18 million in 2015. (Total admissions for non-erotic, R-rated films of over 500,000 admissions; CGV Research Center's 2015 Admissions Trend Report) 
 
R-rated Movies: from "It’s so cruel" to "It’s fun!"

In such trend, several meaningful signs have appeared regarding the R-rated movies. One of them is the Korean Media Rating Board's final report on film rating in 2015. According to this report, R-rated movies accounted for 52% of all releases, which is 875 films out of 1,680. Among these, Korean movies were 191, which is 52% of the entire 367 Korean film products of the year. For foreign films, 684 out of 1,313 were R-rated. Box office hits include local movies Inside Men, Gangnam Blues, Coin Locker Girl, and The Treacherous, and foreign titles Kingsman: The Secret Service, and Fifty Shades of Grey.
 
R-rated movies have not only grown up in terms of size but also of preference. At the CGV Film Industry Media Forum held on January 28th, LEE Seung-won (CGV Research Center Manager) referred to R-rated movies as a major audience trend in 2015. “Inside Men has made the all-time record in Net Promoter Score (NPS), measured based on the words of mouth,” said LEE.
 
In the NPS, New World scored 17.7% with 4.68 million viewers; Kingsman: the Secret Service 26.8% with 6.12 million; and Inside Men 35.9%. "Not only online searches for R-rated movies have jumped, but also the images that SNS users would share about R-rated films have changed from negative terms like “cruel, scary, could do better” to positive terms such as “cruel, fun, fresh, stimulating"," explains LEE.
 
In the past, a lot of viewers gave up on watching them or found them repulsive because of the cruel scenes, but last year, reactions from viewers were closer to “they are cruel, yet fun.”
 
LEE analyzes that it is clearly the 20's who prefer films with sensational subject matter. "For them, R-rated movies are like hot and spicy snacks, with which they relieve stress," asserts LEE. In the research about CGV admissions for top 10 films in 2015, 42.2% and 47.5% of all audiences in their 20's, respectively, watched Inside Men and Kingsman: The Secret Service. However, he drew a line by saying, "It only means we now have an adequate movie environment where R-rated movies can also have a chance, not where all R-rated movies can be successful."
 
New Market for R -rated Movies

However, R-rated movies in the Korean film market seem to have a stronger ground in the future. J.D. HAN, the president of Sanai Pictures, as well as the producer of New World, says, “As the video generation has entered their 30's and 50's, they have naturally become producers and viewers of R-rated movies.” He is producing another R-rated action film called Asura by KIM Sung-soo, which will inherit New World's legacy. Asura is a death match involving a bunch of bad guys, played by JUNG Woo-sung, HWANG Jung-min and JU Ji-hoon, all with different life goals.
 
HAN predicts that the R-rated film distribution market this year will be very competitive, as PARK Chan-wook's The Handmaiden and CHOO Chang-min's Night of 7 Years are all set to open as R-rated titles.
 
The ever growing rights market, including IPTV, VOD and mobile, is also boosting the expansion of the R-rated movie market. Homegrown erotic films are now back with new series, which once collapsed with the decline of video rentals. Erotic films account for 81.1% of the total number of Japanese films imported to Korea.
 
On the IPTV market, R-rated movies like New World, The Treacherous, and Inside Men: The Original are still popular, reaching 600-700 thousand hits. Launches of foreign dramas through platforms like Netflix seem to have a positive influence on the R-rated film market in the future.

[rubie]

February 23, 2016

Scant Showing for Korean Films at Box Office

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

The market share of Korean films in January was a disappointing 45.6 percent, according to the Korean Film Council.

The number of viewers of Korean films was 7.63 million, and ticket sales were worth W60 billion, down 45.6 percent and 45.5 percent from a year ago (US$1=W1,235).

Foreign films drew 9.26 million and produced sales of W72.5 billion, up 9.5 percent on-year on both counts.

Still, the biggest hit was a Korean film, "The Himalayas," which lured 2.59 million spectators in January alone.

The runner-up was R-rated crime flick "Inside Men" with 1.89 million viewers. "The Revenant" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and a CGI bear came third with 1.88 million, and "Kung Fu Panda 3," with an animated bear, was fourth with 1.6 million.

3D animation "The Good Dinosaur," without bears, ranked fifth with 1.32 million. Among the top 10 films, four were Korean, five were American, and one was British.

[rubie]

March 8, 2016

Rising Actress Lee El Receives the Spotlight in Esquire Pictorial

Source: Soompi by leejojoba 

Actress Lee El reveals her recent pictorial for men’s magazine Esquire showing off her gorgeous figure.

In the March issue of men’s fashion magazine Esquire, Lee El is shown in various poses exuding her sexy and alluring charm.

Lee El grabs viewers’ attention with a low cut top accentuating her sensuality.

In another shot, she shows off her perfect profile highlighting long, slender neckline and arms dressed in a cut-out top.

Lee El appeared in the film “The Insiders” (also known as “Inside Men”) last year alongside actor Lee Byung Hun. She gained the spotlight with her dynamic acting in the film. She has also starred in several dramas including “Liar Game,” “Divorce Lawyer in Love,” “Imaginary Cat,” and more.

Source (1)

[rubie]

Thanks to the highlight at PlanetBH0712. Google-translate: EverythingLBH.com

March 9, 2016

Yoo Ah In vs Lee Byung Hun, Nominated Best Actor at 21st Chunsa Film Awards

Source: OSEN

Ceremony to be held at COEX Auditorium on April 5th.

The Nominations:

▲ Best Director -

The Throne (Lee Joon Ik),

The Shameless (Oh Seung Uk),

Right Now, Wrong Then (Hong Sang Soo),

Assassination (Choi Dong Hoon)

Inside Men (Woo Min Ho)

▲ Best New Director -

The Priests (Jang Jae Hyun),

Minority Opinion (Kim Sung Jee)

Socialphobia (Hong Seok Jae)

▲ Original Screenplay -

The Priests

Assassination

Inside Men 

Minority Opinion 

▲ Best Actor -

The Throne (Yoo Ah In)

The Great Tiger (Choi Min Sik)

Right Now, Wrong Then (Jung Jae Young),

InsIde Men (Lee Byung Hun)

Revivre (Ahn Sung Ki)

▲ Best Actress -

The Shameless (Jeon Do Yeon)

Right Now, Wrong Then (Kim Min Hee)

Assassination (Jeon Ji Hyun)

Alice in Earnestland (Lee Jung Hyun)

Coin Locker Girl (Kim Hye Soo)

▲ Best Supporting Actor-

Assassination (Jo Jin Woong)

Inside Men (Baek Yoon Sik),

Minority Opinion (Lee Geung Young)

Office (Bae Sung Woo)

Veteran (Oh Dal Su)

▲ Best Supporting Actress -

The Throne (Jeon Hye Jin)

Minority Opinion (Kim Ok Bin)

Revivre (Kim Ho Jung)

The Himalayas (Ra Mi Ran)

The Silenced (Uhm Ji Won)

[rubie]

'Inside Men' opened in Japan on Friday 3/11. Looks like a good review from this instagram sharing.

Photo credit: aki_love_m